Check Out The Ultimate Python Penthouse In Glass!! (Pic Heavy)

[patientz3ro]

I've been wanting to create this thread for quite a while, but I hadn't gotten all the elements to a point where I was REALLY happy with it from a presentation standpoint. I had some little projects to work into it today, and since I was making some changes that I wanted to share, I figured I'd just go ahead and get pics of the whole set up in the process!

Obviously the main goal in any python cage is the health and well being of the animal, so that was the most important consideration here. The second design goal was to make this a display worthy of the name. I wanted it to be "naturalistic," as well as very neat and professional looking. I didn't want to see towels and foil all over the top, or heat lamp domes just sitting there. I also wanted to make sure no wires, hoses, or whatever were visible. Finally, because I chose to go with glass, I knew it would be a challenge to make it practical from a heating and humidity stand point, but I also knew it could be done, and done well. I'd like to think I met all those goals successfully, but tell me what you think.

And with that...








In the first two pictures, you'll notice there are two light canopies. That serves two purposes.

1. It cuts down on the amount of heat and humidity escaping from the top.
2. It gives me independent control over lamps for illumination and for maintaining ambient temps.

In the third picture, you can see most of the "hardware" for what I like to call my Environmental Control System. There are two thermostats, two combo meters, one hot spot thermometer, and the fogger is in the cabinet at the lower left. The timer controlling the white lights isn't pictured, but it's not anything special.



I love these gauges. They slide right into a slot on the top of the canopy, and they've been super accurate and durable. The single thermometer on the right is reading the temperature at the glass above the UTH. It's only there for back up, since the UTH its self is controlled by the VE 100 shown in the earlier photos. The other two are ambient air and humidity. They're a little low at the moment because I had the doors wide open while I was doing some maintenance. While temperatures and humidity can get a little off when the doors are open or the canopies are off, everything re-stabilizes in less than 5 minutes once I close everything back up.









In the last four photos, you can see all the elements of the ambient heat and humidification system. All of this is controlled by a ZooMed Hygrotherm. If the ambient air temperature gets below 85ish on the hot side, the lunar lamps come on. If the humidity drops below 55%, the fogger activates. At night, air temperature is kept at about 78 and humidity remains the same.

In case you're wondering, during the day there is about an 8 degree difference between the air temperature at either end. That's done by using 15w bulbs in 3 sockets and a 25w bulb over the hot side. Also, the fogger is cleaned and flushed every two days, then refilled with distilled water.



Now for the fun stuff...

I wanted to try to recreate a savanna type of display, so grass was definitely going to be a part of it. I also included a few other elements that don't strictly fit with a savanna theme, but they do add a little more interest. Some of the plants I used were from ZooMed and ExoTerra, but I also made a few of my own just to have more variety. If you want to make some yourself, here's how...



First, take one of these "stacking stones" and drill an appropriately sized hole with a masonry bit. Put a piece of some sort of tape over the hole on the bottom of the stone. Fill the hole with hot glue and stick your plant in there. Once the glue dries, remove the tape, and run a bead of silicone around the stem. At that point, your plant should look something like this...



From there, just do what you would normally do. Clear a spot to put the stone on the glass, put it in, then cover it up. Presto.










I actually hot glue mine to the glass, then just pop them off when I change substrate. Hot glue doesn't stick to glass very strongly, so they come off with just a firm tug. I'm considering trying magnets in the future, though. Ether way, these are inexpensive, easy to make, and add a nice touch.




Whenever someone asks how to fix temp or humidity issues, it's almost a given that someone's going to suggest getting rid of a glass tank and switching to tubs, racks, or PVC. Glass isn't as efficient as these others, but there's just something classy about it. I knew I was going to have to come with a system that would take the hassle out of husbandry with a glass set up. In the end, I've gotten every aspect of environmental control automated. Sunrise, sunset, heat, humidity... all kept right where I want them. I also built a display that I think looks awesome. The environment looks authentic, the stand and tank themselves are attractive, and it all fits together neatly.

But like I said earlier, it's about the snake, first and foremost. I think Ajja is pretty content in there.







... At least until she wants to come see daddy!





Thanks for looking!

[Garnet]

Very nice!

[Neal]

Nice setup and you've decorated it nicely, but you'll learn some of that stuff just won't work. Especially come cleaning time. Not to say that you can't do it, but you're going to spend some time redoing a good bit of it.

[patientz3ro]

Nice setup and you've decorated it nicely, but you'll learn some of that stuff just won't work. Especially come cleaning time. Not to say that you can't do it, but you're going to spend some time redoing a good bit of it.

I planned a naturalistic type of setup from the very beginning. Since BP's aren't normally the best display animals, I wanted to make the cage its self a larger element of the display. I fully expected it to be a pain to take everything out, clean and disinfect everything, then put it all back and get things stabilized. I accepted that as the price I'd have to pay to make it something I would enjoy looking at day after day. I was pretty surprised to find out it's no big deal. I actually enjoy setting everything back up, changing something here and there... Even if I absolutely HATED doing it, it'll never be as bad as a saltwater fish tank. I don't even LIKE fish!

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[KMG]

My ball stays in a naturalistic tank. Live and fake plants, driftwood, moss, hides, and water. It works just fine and cleaning to not that bad. I really enjoy rearranging it from time to time.

Nice tank!

[patientz3ro]

My ball stays in a naturalistic tank. Live and fake plants, driftwood, moss, hides, and water. It works just fine and cleaning to not that bad. I really enjoy rearranging it from time to time.

Nice tank!

I would love to have done a planted setup, but I'm lethal to plants. I'm pretty sure I could even manage to kill fake ones given enough time. Still, I'd like to set up a couple of small planted viv's on either side of this one. Maybe put a couple of dart frogs or electric blue day geckos in them.

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[Archimedes]

Super pretty! A little high tech for me, but Nessie and Izzy are pretty content with their vines and daily mistings, so I'll just file this away for later in case I have any major alterations to add later. Especially like the engineering on the grass!

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[GeekAndDestroy]

I would love to have done a planted setup, but I'm lethal to plants. I'm pretty sure I could even manage to kill fake ones given enough time. Still, I'd like to set up a couple of small planted viv's on either side of this one. Maybe put a couple of dart frogs or electric blue day geckos in them.

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I'm looking to do a live setup as well. I'm looking mostly into into using larger varieties of Tillandsia. They are fairly hardy, and need little more than the cage's humidity to survive. They also don't need to be planted in anything, so no worries about the snake pushing it around.